Steven Universe: The Crystal Plague?
by Clokwerk Duck
Summary: What would have happened should the Rebellion Failed? What if Rose was captured when Garnet first came into being? And what if they were lead onward by the most unlikely of allies?


Rose Quartz had a deep grimace upon her face. Why wouldn't she be scowling? The Rebellion she had worked so feverishly for, she had planned for DECADES to start? Had all come crumbling down in a single moment when a Sapphire was saved by a Ruby.

Their fusion was her doom.

Instead of being distracted by the offense against tradition, they had turned their focus to the Pearl that was caught in their center and quickly bubbled her.

She wondered if she was alright, if she was intact.

Dismissing the darker thoughts for a moment, she remembered her own captor. A gem that reeked of acid, a smile on his face the entire time as he systematically destroyed each of her defenses. A sickening smile filled with gnarled teeth locked over one another haphazardly, and baleful turquoise eyes.

The gem perked up, the remains of her tattered war dress shuffling silently around her as she stood tall. Her nose twitched at the scent. Caustic, vitriolic, acid burned her nose by the mere presence of this gem…this thing that had beaten her down.

Almost by instinct she took a step away from the humming door of light before her, and glared at the hall. The first glance of that gnarled length of gemstone that served as HIS staff. The burlap coverings along his body were a sickly turquoise, leading up to that same faceless visage she had seen mere moments before she was poofed.

The gaunt figure spun around, the five pairs of 'ribs' on his chest shook, flexed, and clattered against one another. His free arm was crossed behind his back, the other was gripped so tightly upon his staff, his knuckles had turned a bleached white. However, what Rose found most horrifying was his face, or lack thereof.

Instead of a mouth, there were crisscrossing strands of muscle that hid what would have been his lips. Instead of eyes? There were slits that were drawn tightly shut, bags and hollow sockets only pronouncing their absence even more. Instead of a nose? There were two small holes, not unlike that of a snake…and in the center of all that? In the very middle of his forehead was the spherical gem colored with toxic greens and blues.

He spoke. "Rose Quartz…"

His voice dripped venom, acid, and sounded like he had taken a blender to his larynx.

Rose gulped down her fear and took another step back. The smell permeated into her cell, her nostrils feeling like they were ready to melt. It was horrid simply being in his presence. The antithesis to everything she had fought for, what she represented.

"I am sure you're wondering why, out of all the various gems, I chose to step up to stop you. Why I didn't just let one of the dozens of quartz soldiers still present fuse into some monstrosity to bring you low. Why A Lapis or two didn't just twist the clouds into your prison." Chrysocolla continued, his form not moving an inch. No movement coming from that twisted, faceless visage of his.

Rose took another step back, her heel hitting the edge of her cell. "Your allegiance lies to the Diamonds. It's quite obvious."

Her own voice trembled. Was he her executioner? Had he come to beat her down? To personally destroy her?

Chrysocolla pulled his left hand from behind his back, and rapidly typed in a series of codes upon a holographic screen. The next moment? The Cell's Door deactivated and let a breath of literal fresh air rush in to a thankful Rose.

The gem stepped forward, Rose swept her arm across her belly and the gem on it, and summoned her shield. Chrysocolla only raised his hand to her, palm out, as his response. "I did it to gain their trust, Rose."

Rose perked up immediately, confusion written across her face. The lack of acid in the air, the calm gesture. "What game are you playing at?"

"Quite obviously, the long haul, Dear Rose. I'm no fan of the Diamonds and their reckless and single minded devotion to our species. It leads them to ignore possibilities, concepts they could never CONCIEVE that would save us. Save us from their reckless resource consumption." Chrysocolla's tone had hardened, the rasp more focused.

Rose kept the shield in front of her lifted up, eying the other gem wearily. While it was true, she had started the rebellion for the freedom of those gems that still lived like slaves, and the Biological life of Earth, she hadn't ever considered the logistics of gemkind and their life.

She had saved the earth simply because she knew that the injectors would have left it little more than a hollow husk. A thing not fit to be called a planet.

How many worlds did the Authority have at their disposal to drain like this? How many more would they need to continue expanding?

Chrysocolla nodded, a low noise of agreement coming from his face. "You see now what I mean…"

Rose nodded, eyes locked on the slits that were his eyes.

"Now, my question is...If you had the chance to continue your rebellion. To let it burst from inside Homeworld's Chest, and deal a potentially fatal blow, would you like that chance again? Would you like the chance to be reunited with all your friends? The fusion that was formed? Would you be willing to help me…in return for seeing them alive?"

Rose grimaced and looked towards Chrysocolla. Her voice had an edge to it. "You expect me to believe you?"

Chrysocolla shook his head. "Disbelief is the most common first response. However, incentive can help change one's mind rather quickly."

A single, sharp, snap of his fingers echoed through the hallway, and Rose felt herself more on edge than ever before. The floor rumbled and shook in an uneven rhythm. Rounding the corner was a titanic figure. A skeletal mask carved to appear as if it was grinning was set in front of the Eisenkiesel's head. His body was easily twice as wide as even that of a perfectly formed Jasper and was swathed in thick black clothes bound up tightly with belts and suspenders to keep it on his titanic bulk. In one of his hands, he gently guided along a familiar face that let out a joyous scream.

"Rose!"

Rose barely had time to throw her arms open to receive the hug from her Pearl. The white gem buried her head into the cloth covering the other gems chest in a mixture of a laughing frenzy, and sobbing mess.

Chrysocolla only turned away from the two, lightly chuckling.

Rose's voice softened just a bit, her hand resting upon Pearl's head. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Pearl looked up at her, eyes laden with freely flowing tears. She wiped them away with her arm and shook her head. "N…no. Eisekiesel was actually quite pleasant."

The giant standing in the doorway only waved a titanic hand at the mention of his name, shyly turning away from the two.

Rose made her decision then and there. There wasn't a hair out of place on Pearl. Her gem was still shiny and lustrous, her clothing was fully intact, and she looked like the picture of health.

"Chrysocolla." Her tone was serious once more. Pearl stepped aside as her master made her way to the door, footsteps silent and graceful as always.

The other gem turned about once more, his staff clacking upon the metal beneath him noisily. "So?"

"We have a deal…but I'd like to know what happened to my Army…and what exactly you want me to do."

Chrysocolla chuckled and offered her a hand, gesturing towards the hallway. "Of course of course. Let's get you settled into your new cell first. I'll explain it all along the way."

She reluctantly nodded, Pearl stepping to her side, and together they walked behind the hunched over form of Chrysocolla.

For the first time in few months she had been imprisoned? She felt a small spark of hope rekindle itself in her.


End file.
